every effort to prevent it. >> if you are going to count pages like this as discovery, you should be ashamed of yourself. that's not discovery. that is saying that nothing within the document requested under any circumstanceses are we going to be showing. >> the follow from the fast and furious is far from over. more than 1,000 of the weapons that walked are still unaccounted for, still in the hands of criminals and cartels on both sides of the border. if your choice did not win and you want to check out the runners up i will have link to them at my facebook. hi, randi kaye. >> congratulations, because today is your 100th show. >> you have done 200 as least.

>> thank you. flies and the strong repulsive order inside casey anthony's car trunk are key clues. prosecutors say it's proof the decomposing body of casey's 2-year-old daughter, caylee, was inside the trunk. but defense attorneys are trying to squash that theory with their own bug expert. the explosive theorys all have us on edge. no wonder the casey anthony murder trial is becoming somewhat of an obsession. you see that guy there in the head lock? that was the scene this morning outside the courthouse in orlando. the case has mature grown-ups and adults clawing their way in line to get a seat inside of courtroom. let's go to anthony from peop

"people" magazine. i want the viewers to listen to what the defense's bug expert said first. >> i said there's nothing that i can see that would indicate to me a decomposing body had been in this vehicle. >> so that is exact opposite of what the prosecution's expert said. there were a lot of sidebars and pauses in the case today, and the jurors were asked to leave at one point. how credible is that finding in terms of what this expert is saying? >> i don't know about the credibility of this one to be honest. we're talking about dr. huntington, who was on the stand today, he was actually a student of dr. haskell, who was a witness for the state. and the other thing is it took so long to get to that point

with he said there may not have been decomposition in that car, and by that point some of the jurors it seemed some had checked out mentally before they got to that point. >> are the jurors, do they seem board or are they paying attention? this is critical stuff as the defense tries to make their case? >> some of them are paying close attention. there are many that lean forward and take notes and that type of thing, but there are a few, especially the ones that i notice that might not have the education of the others that really seem to be checked out. jury number 6 always is fighting sleep. and today was no different. i saw his head bob a couple times. if this was supposed to be some grand gesture that there was no decomposition in the trunk, it may have been lost on a few of them. >> yesterday we knew the experts said that they had not found any blood or dna in the car or on casey anthony's clothes or on

the duct tape found on caylee's remains. today is it the bug expert. does it seem like it could be enough to throw a wrench in the prosecution's theory? were they successful at raising doubt, do you think of those jurors sleeping and not paying attention? >> probably, yes. there is a chance that they are hitting on the doubt thing. the only difference and the only problem is they had started their case by giving this very grand theory about what happened, and you know, although normally the defense does not have to prove anything, since they made such explosive claims at the beginning of this case, they are going to have to explain some of that, and they will have to prove some of that. so doubt may not be enough because of that opening statement that they made. >> yeah. we will see how it all plays out. steve, thank you as always. for continuing live coverage of the casey anthony trial, head over to our sister network, hln.

>> and gabriel giffords is spending time at home. you will regard giffords was shot in the head in january. she was released from a houston hospital on wednesday. her husband spoke out today about his wife for the first time since then, and its today's sound affect. >> she wanted to leave, but she was a little bit apprehensive and a little bit of a sad day, but happy to get here. we had a very busy lifestyle, different places, so in any given year she was here rarely, but it's very familiar to her, so that's nice. she's looking forward to getting back to tucson. >> giffords and her husband are staying at their houston suburban home, which is near the space center. a federal judge ruled the shooter is incompetent to stand trial. in the indiana, a body of a

missing woman was found in a swamp. she had been missing since monday. extradition hearing is set today for her boyfriend. he was arrested tuesday in indiana and charged with murder. police believe he killed her in michigan and drove across state lines and dumped her body in the swamp. and then a report that may was the worst month in a year for suicides and potential suicides. the numbers for may were the highest for one month since june 2010. an army spokesman said they are not sure why suicide cases are rising. rush hour traffic was made worse today around the pentagon due to a security incident. an abandoned red nissan found near the pentagon was searched

but no explosives were found, and a man that was accounting suspiciously was detained. he had bags of nonexplosive unknown material. according to one official, the man is of ethiopian background. and officials determined there was no immediate concern after the search of his home. and then a pastor supporting equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation. introduced by south africa, the u.n. is the first ever measure on the matter. the vote was 23 in favor, and 19 opposed and 23 abstentions. actor tracy morgan is making another effort to apologize for

his anti-gay rant during a recent comedy show. it occurred during a june 3rd show. today, morgan is meeting with gay teens from a homeless shelter in new york, and we'll speak to some of those kids next hour. a congressman no more, but anthony weiner's future is far from over. where he might be headed next. what happens now to the empty seat? i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups.

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here we are 20 days later, 20 days of intense denials and false allegations and angry exchanges and seemingly nonstop coverage, and 20 days later and weiner-gate is over. that's because weiner's time as a congressman is over. he resigned yesterday. the side show may be over but the story doesn't end. there's already buzz on what weiner might do next. lobbyist, tv bun dunt and maybe back to congress. but back to the media for just a moment. why was it such a circus? joining me speak about this, howard. i want to start with the new research center, washington post poll. take a look here with me. a majority of americans, 57% think the number of scandals

coming to light has more to do with the increased krut knee of politicians, not because they have lower moral standards than ordinary americans. i want to get your thoughts on this. is this about intense scrutiny. is that what is to blame here, do you think, or is it about the media? >> to a large extent, those people are right, because it's the media that now bring us everything we didn't want to know about these peoples' lives. jack kennedy had a lot of mistresses, and eisenhower had a lot of mistresses. can you send a shirtless photo of yourself, but not without somebody finding out about it. >> how would you grade the immediamedia in our coverage -- and by our, i mean all of us? >> i think it was a legitimate story because of the way anthony weiner went on the shows and

lied. it's an interesting story and the covers just got out of control. for 20 days, this was the most important story in america, particularly if you watch cable television. not the fact that we are in three wars and have a debt crisis. it was a story that was fascinating on a number of levels, and i would be the first to admit that, but at the same time i think it was an addiction to the sex and sleaze and the sexing world, and it almost drove out lots of other important news. >> i am hoping this is the last conversation you and i do have for the immediate future about anthony weiner. i want to talk about the future. his future. where do you think he is likely to land next. on tv or back to congress. he has plenty of money to run as a candidate. >> he certainly -- at the news conference before he got drowned out by the heckler from the

howard stern show, and he could certainly run for something. elliott spitzer ended up with a primetime television show on cnn. he needs to step out of the spotlight now. we all have heard and seen a little bit too much of anthony weiner, but i believe he can come back once a decent amount of time passed. >> as far as aknow, what happens to his now empty seat? >> well, the question is whether that seat in brooklyn and queens is going to continue to exist. new york state is losing two commercial seats to redistricting, and i think that seat, where my mother lives by the way, and she was prepared to vote for anthony weiner again, even though she was disgusted by what happened she said he was a good congressman.

if not, governor cuomo has to decide to put on a costly special election to fill it. >> you have heard about the job to work at hustler? >> i would say the chances of weiner to accept that job is slim. and his first job is to repair his marriage. his wife has not uttered a word, not even a one-sentence statement in public. i don't think having larry flint as his employer is not at the top of his list. >> yeah, i don't see that happening either. thank you so much. have a great weekend. so what will it take to get the economy to fully recover? stimulus or tax cuts maybe? christine romans tackles that

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welcome back. in today's your money, the struggling economy is front and center. what do we need to get it back on track? stimulus? taxes? maybe a little bit of both. >> america over spends. we have a debt that stands at more than $14 trillion and counting. will we spend more in the near term to avoid slipping back into a recession or worse?

ken, do we need more stimulus in one form of another, the fed or congress to boost a slowing recovery. politics aside, should we spend more money now? >> i don't think we should have another big stimulus. we need to pull out of this one slowly. i don't think it's the problem. this is not a typical post world war ii recession. this is a post financial crisis recession. there's too much debt out there, and if we will spend money, we should address that. and on the other hand, the fed ought to do what it can. the buying bonds program was not successful. the foreigners hated us and we need to get inflation up. that's important in the recovery. >> let me go here personally, christine. seven years ago i filed for personal bankruptcy because i had almost $100,000 in health care cost and having no health

insurance. so when i did that, guess what i had to do? i had to change the way i lived and change my spending habits. when we talk about the personal debt of consumers and also of government, it requires a change in habit. the problem with the stimulus programs, the first one with president barack obama, one-third of the package was tax cuts. so at some.the you cannot spend your way out of a mess. you might have to realize it will take four or five years to change my lifestyle and to get out of my mess. but spending our way out of it is not going to be the answer. accept the pain. >> the question is accepting the pain and how much pain and how do you do it? depending what party you are in, you think you are living in your means in different ways. by a two-thirds to one-third margin, americans say government is doing too much that should be left to business. should we forget the stimulus talk and let washington get out

of the way and trust the private sector to start hiring? >> that's good to start with. we're in a unique situation. in my opinion, it can extend recession and resembles 1930 more. let's enable the private sector how we can, but in order to address the federal government deficit, we can look at soesh security and medicare. i think there is a responsible way to address both problems at the same time. >> for all the latest financial news be sure and join christine roman for "your body line", and she's sitting in on "your money." here's a look at some of the top stories this hour. roads around the pentagon were closed this morning as police investigated a car left abandoned in the bushes. while the vehicle was deemed suspicious, no explosives or

harmful devices were found. and a man acting suspiciously was detained and the investigation is on going. and then taking direct aim at a number of prosecution claims. this morning a bug expert testified on behalf of the defense claiming the type of insects found in casey's trunk do not prove there was a body inside for any amount of time. in saudi arabia women were encouraged to defy the status quo and get behind the wheel and drive. there are no laws that specifically forbidding women to drive. the band is demanding the right for women to drive freely and safely within the country. it could be a important round of golf. tomorrow president obama and house speaker, john boehner, will tee off together.

ed henry joins us for that. talk to you in a minute, ed. ♪ what do you see yourself doing after you do retire? client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize. "i better start doing something." we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

it's u.s. open weekend, but another golf event plays out saturday when president obama and house speaker john boehner put aside their differences to

play 18 holes. golf digest ranks boehner as the tenth best golfer among washington politicians, with a 7.9 handicap. and joe biden ranks with the sixth best golfer in d.c. president obama, well, he's unranked with a handicap of around 17. and ed henry joins us from the white house. what does the president hope to get from the white house other than extra strokes. >> reporter: i cannot make too much fun of the president because my handicap is usually my swing, because it's not that good. the president, i can't pile on, but he's not the greatest of golfers, but has been playing a lot lately and getting better according to people who played with them. what he wants to get out of it is a little give and take with john boehner. there was a time in washington where you had the big players,

like then-president reagan, and they would have a drink in the white house behind me after fighting all day about social security or medicare or taxes or whatever, and nowadays these presidents, these speaksers of the house, they don't spend a lot of time together and the parties are greatly divided. we know that. and it's a chance to try and get together. we just heard from jay carney a few moments ago, they will make pictures available and let cameras in to get a little exchange, but it's still top secret where they are going to play. i know for sure it will not be the congressional country club. you mentioned they had the u.s. open player there this weekend. and jay carney saying they are debating whether or not to release the two leader's scores. if the president wins, will you release it, and if he loses you won't release it, and jay looked at me and said, yeah, exactly. >> i think it might leak out if

they don't release it, as everything does in washington. and then what about libya. sunday is the deadline, and if they are playing golf on saturday, and libya has to come up, right? >> reporter: we don't know how much depth they will get into with something like that. the issue that has divided them will come up as will the debt talks. and i asked jay carney about the image of all this, and the president plays golf and john boehner plays golf, and leaders of both parties, and the fact is, it's seen as a rich man's sport. there are a lot of people out of work. is the president concerned about that image, about palling around on the golf course. and he ducked that part about the unemployed, and he said if the president wants to reach t

out, we'll see whether or not there's a major break through on the golf course. i tend to doubt there will be a major compromise. maybe this will be known as the golf summit. >> as i have been watching this and talking with you, this is a truck, a construction truck that keeps going behind you. i am curious. is the president building a putting green or something? what is all the construction for? >> he has a putting green on the back on the south side. i doubt he will do that on this side. they say they are going through the telecommunications and updating all the wires underneath, but they are doing so much digging, and there is a lot of conspiracy stories about a tunnel going on, and who knows because i will not add to the rumors. maybe there is a big dog run being built or something. who knows. >> on tuesday, i have been meaning to rib you about this, because president obama made a

rare presidential visit to puerto rico, and you covered him there, and your attention to detail really impressed daily show host, jon stewart. >> florida would probably be the biggest prize the president has his eyes on. 847,000 puerto ricans. look at states like new jersey and pennsylvania, 366,000 puerto ricans. >> anybody else weirded out about how rain man specific ed henry knows about how many puerto ricans there are. headed back to the white house, passing 3,700 puerto ricans in his 22-minute drive. >> well, ed, are you rain man? >> no, you know, my dad let's me drive every sunday.

what was that line rain man used. no, i am not rainman. all of those numbers, i don't know off hand. i was reading off of a graphic. i am not counting how many puerto ricans there are around the country, and it's always funned to be poked a little bit by jon stewart. >> and i have christine in my ear saying, definitely not, definitely not, definitely not rainman. >> yeah, right. thank you. can what you wear on an airplane land you in jail? that story next.

it's half past the hour. here's a look at some of the news you may have mixed. a traffic jam around the pentagon this morning as police closed the roads to investigate a car abandoned in the bushes. while the car was deemed at first suspicious, no explosives were found in the nissan. police detained a man acting suspiciously at arlington cemetery, and the investigating is on going. and then these are live pictures from orlando inside the trial right now. dr. tim huntington, he is countering the testimony of the state's bug expert. prosecution's witness testified that flies found in the trunk of casey anthony's car were consistent with a body being stored for days. and huntingtons it's not

indicative of decomposition. a football player was forced off a us airways flight and arrested, get this, for refusing to pull up his saggy pants. after the flight crew's unsec sesful attempts to get him to pull up his pants to cover his underwear. he was arrested for trespassing and battery on a police officer. ex-congressman anthony weiner has a job offer from larry flint. the offer came within hours after his resignation. here is what the benefits were. flint is offering to pay weiner's moving expenses. he made the job offer in a letter published in the

"huffington post." the aviation administration has proposed a civil penalty against united airlines for violating drug testing policies. united failed to perform mandatory drug testing before transferring 13 people to safety sensitive positions. they have 30 days to respond to the faa. coming up next, cancer death rates are down across the country. not everybody is in the clear. that is next. what's this option? that's new.

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there's good and bad news out on the cancer front today. the good news, cancer death rates over all are falling across the country. but here's the bad, americans less educated are far more likely to die from cancer. the cancer society says americans with the least education are more than 2 1/2 times likely to die from cancer as those with the most education. the study finds more than one-third of premature cancer deaths could have been avoided if everybody had a college degree. joining me to discuss the study, the chief medical officer for the cancer medical society, and thank you for coming in and talking about this. why do you think we're seeing this discrepancy in education levels? >> because it's an indicator for poverty, causing more smoking, and more obesity.

people are less likely to exercise. a lot of things that we know that prevent cancer are more common in people who are wealthy, or people who are middle class, and people who are poor have worth health habits, and then, of course, access to health care. >> that's a big one. your study also finds that even though they have slowed cancer death rates, they are higher for african-americans than whites despite the education level. and 33% higher in african-american men, and 16% higher in ofafrican-american woman. >> they are more likely to have obesity and not exercise. healthful habits and then access to care. >> and i want to talk to you about the deadliest cancers. lung cancer certainly is the number one killer for men and women. breast cancer, if you take a

look at our list. breast cancer number two for women and prostate number two for men, and colon cancer is number three for both. and then your study says those with an high school education die less than four to five times higher than those with a degree. >> that is almost totally related to smoking. smoking kills one-half of all people who smoke. and much of it is by cardiac disease or cancer. this is -- lung cancer is the most preventible cancer. 80% of people who develop lung cancer develop it because of smoking. >> you look at this disdiscrepancy see. >> sometimes when you get into

inner cities, people just don't have much hope, and much as people who are in more of a middle class environment. we need to focus on poverty. indeed, we talked about cell phones and other things causing cancer. poverty is a much greater killer than any other other things we have talked about recently. >> did anything in the study surprise you? any of the findings? >> i have been close to the data for 20 years. it confirms many of the suspicions. i cannot tell you i was shocked. i hope people do start to focus on the fact that we need to try to figure out how we can get adequate health care, including presentative services to people not getting them and people who deserve to get adequate care. >> so important so we can turn the numbers around. i agree. thank you, it's a very important issue. a megastar who also happens to be a goodwill ambassador for the u.n.

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actress, angelina jolie is in turkey visiting refugees there. what is the latest can you tell on jolie's visit? >> reporter: well, she wrapped up her visit. it lasted around 2 1/2 hours. she was at the refugee camp behind me that used to be a tobacco factory. there are thousands of refugees living in there, and this is quite a unique opportunity that angelina jolie had given the fact that the media has been barred by turkish authorities from entering, and she was able to get a firsthand glance at how the refugees are coping with life outside their country and hearing their stories. a group of them are from the northwestern part of the country where there has been an intense

military crackdown still under way. prior to her arrival, there was a small demonstration greeting angelina. one man was carrying a sign saying the military is killing its own people, and please make it stop. and children were chanting, and holding op sign saying please stop killing children. we have to wait and see what a statement angelina jolie will make. >> you had a chance to visit with some of the refugees as well. are things going to get better for them? what is the out look? >> reporter: well, when the refugees that arrived in turkey, effectively they were provided with food and water and medical care and shelter, but they are

corralling them away from the outside world and we don't have official access to them inside the camps. we were able to get into a small refugee camp inside syria. there are hundreds of people clustered there. some of them choosing to stay there because they were separated from loved ones and some are hoping to return back home, but they all tell harrowing stories of how the military forced them out of their homes. they feared a massacre at the hands of the syrian security forces if they did in fact capture them. some of them coming from the northwestern part of the country and others from even further away. we met a young woman who was pregnant. she was just so terrified that even though she was about to cross into safety, her hands were shaking, and her voice trem bulling. she said she witnessed from her house demonstrations taking place, and hearing security forces firing, and she had to

crawl on her stomach for safety, and she saw a lawyer she knew gunned down. we hear these stories time and time again from the refugees. >> any indication of the syrian army movements in that area? >> reporter: what we have been hearing from one of the activist based along the syrian and turkish border, they could hear overnight from the camp i was just talking about, the sounds of gun fire, and they believe because they have the spotters watching the movement of the military, that the military is only in fact a few miles away from the border, and you can only imagine the tremors of fear that type of information is sending for those waiting to cross into turkey. >> thank you, as always. time right now, 47 minutes past the hour. the prime minister of greece reshuffles his cabinet amid

widespread unrest triggered by the government's attempt to push through measures demanded by the european union aimed at reducing the huge budget deficit. greece's budget woes have affected financial markets around the world. in libya, nato carried out strikes on targets in the capital of tripoli today. elsewhere in the country, the bbc reports that at least ten people were killed when government forces shelled targets near misa. the flood something forcing evacuation of more than 670,000 people living along the river. the government estimates losses of nearly $2 billion. flying without the help of fossil fuel. what happens, you might ask, when the sun goes down? that's ahead in the big eye, next.

and it's time now for a cnn political update. cnn deputy political director

paul steinhauser and peter hannby join me from new orleans, which is where the southern republican leadership conference is taking place. paul, bring us up to date. what's going on there? >> this is an important gathering. -o you've got more than 2,000 republican activists, supporters, really hard core people who support the people, a lot of tea party as well, from 38 states. it's mostly the south, but from 38 states. and you've got a bunch of these republican presidential candidates and some who maybe are going to run here speaking to the crowd. today i guess it will be on michele bachmann. listen, we saw her at the debate monday night and she got positive reviews, i think it's fair to say. by the way, after her speech, she'll be speaking to wolf blitzer shaeyt's speaking later today, so a lot of people will be keeping a big eye on her to see how she performs in front of this crowd. also today, ron paul, congressman from texas, will be speaking, as will rick santorum, former senator from pennsylvania. and herman cain, so a bevy, a cornucopia of republican white house presidential candidates, randi.

>> oh, yeah. very interesting stuff, it sounds like. peter, i know you just spoke with someone who's actually decided now against running for the white house. who might that be? >> that's right. mississippi governor haley barbour spoke here. then he talked to us in the hallway out here for about 15 minutes, clearly relishing the spotlight, even though he didn't decide to run for president. but we asked him about the state of the republican field and some questions about the strength of the field. haley barbour kind of pushed this message that at the end of the day, no matter who republicans nominate, we need to get behind them because they will be better than president obama. that was his message. and also interesting, he said he expects the field to get even bigger. we're in june, but he's saying that rick perry could still jump in the race. obviously, jon huntsman is expected to join the race next week, even sarah palin later this year. so, that's kind of a seat change from a few months ago when the gop establishment thought the field was pretty much set, and now haley barbour, who is, you know, a respected voice in the party, is saying that the field, you know, could grow still,

randi. >> that is interesting. paul, texas governor rick perry is not running for president, at least not yet, we should say. perry's going to be in new orleans. what kind of spotlight do you think he can expect there? >> yeah, peter, i think both of us will be paying a lot of attention to perry tomorrow. he's going to be, by far, the biggest speaker. i remember last year, we were both here last year and perry wowed the audience. so i think a lot of people are going to be keeping an eye on him. peter, as you know, he's not on the straw poll ballot here. they're having a straw poll ballot, but i would assume people can write in for that one, if they want, for rick perry? >> we'll see, and this is a place he could do well. rick perry has kind of crossover appeal to sort of activists, but also establishment types. again, he's a southern governor, we're in the south, so he could do well if people do write his name in. randi? >> all right. peter and paul, always a pleasure. thank you guys. and as we told you earlier this hour, actor tracy morgan is making another effort to apologize for his antigay rant during a recent comedy show. just moments ago, morgan met

with gay teens at a homeless shelter in new york. these are some photos from that meeting that we have just gotten in to cnn. we'll speak to some of those that he met in just a few moments, so stay tuned for that. ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon

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gorving.com and get a free video. or visit an rv dealer. go affordably. go rving. in today's "big i," we take a look at a company attempting to fly a completely solar-powered plane around the globe. the solar impulse project aims to have the plane take off and fly autonomously without the need for fuel. while there have been successful

flights, there is still quite a ways to go to make the round-the-world trip successful. let's bring in solar impulse founder and ceo andre borschberg. he's joining us today. andre, i know you're on the phone with us, but tell us a little bit about how this idea came together. >> yes, hi. my partner took the first flight around the world in a hot air balloon in 1999, and he used about four tons of propane with only 40 rounds left in the bottle, and at the time, he thought would it be possible to do the same, to fly around the world, but this time with no fuel, no dependence on fossil energy? and that's basically how the idea was born. >> so, how does this plane stay powered, exactly? we said it's a solar trip, but how does it work? >> we have solar integrated on

the airplane. it's an airplane that collects the energy from the sun directly, uses all-electric motors, store some of the energy into batteries and can fly day and night. there has been many solar-powered airplanes in the past and also in the united states, but they flew during the day only. and to fly around the world, what we needed is an airplane to be able to fly day and night, and that's what we did last year for the first time, flying 26 hours in switzerland to flying through the day, recharging the batteries and being able to fly through the following entire night. >> so, what happens if you get a few cloudy days in a row, are you stuck? >> you may, but you have to plan your trip in such a way that every morning you are in a sunny place, as you don't have any restriction on energy you have on board. you can go back, you can wait until you get to the right place at the right time.

so, the planning, of course, is very important. that's why we're training. that's the reason also we go step by step. of course, that's the limit of the technology, but you know, if we can fly today without any fuel day and night, we can certainly reduce our fuel consumption on the airplane once we're in the future, and that's our objective. >> all right. andre borschberg from switzerland with a solar-powered flight planned for around the world. thank you, andre. it is 2:00 here on the east coast. i'm randi kaye. we want to start this hour with the casey anthony murder trial, which has so many of us captivated, fascinated by the drama unfolding this hour inside this orlando courtroom. these are live pictures inside the trial for you in what is day two of casey anthony's defense. flies and trash found inside casey anthony's car are the focus right now. prosecutors say it's proof the decomposing body of casey's 2-year-old daughter, caylee, was

inside the trunk, but anthony's defense lawyers are trying to squash that theory with their own bug expert. the bizarre details and explosive theories have us all on edge. so, it's no wonder the casey anthony murder trial is becoming somewhat of an obsession. >> let him go! let him go! >> this is the scene this morning outside the courthouse. you can see there grown-ups, yes, grown-ups actually fighting, clawing their way in line for one of those seats that are reserved for the public inside the courtroom. let's bring in "in session" legal contributor sunny hostin to talk about the case. sunny, i want the viewers first to listen to what the defense's bug expert said about those flies in casey's trunk, and then i want to get your expert opinion on it. >> i said there's nothing that i can see that would indicate to me a decomposing body had been in this vehicle. >> so, we hear that, and that is

really, sunny, the exact opposite of what the prosecution's expert said. in fact, the defense's bug expert seems to be implying that the flies are from trash, not caylee's dead body. and the thing is, huntington, we've learned, is a student of the prosecution's expert. so, it's like using the student to sort of disprove the teacher here. so, given that, sunny, i mean, can the jurors take this defense's bug expert seriously? >> i think it's very possible, randi, and let me just clear something up. what we just heard, that little sound bite, wasn't -- the jury hasn't heard that yet. that was a proffer made outside of the presence of the jury. but this witness, when he is in front of the jury, has done quite well, and he is the student. perhaps there is a juror that thinks that the student is a new and improved, perhaps better version of his professor, a more current version. what he has told the jury is that in his opinion, had there been a decomposing body there, there would have been hundreds, if not thousands of blowflies, which are attracted to

decomposition. the prosecution's expert, dr. neal haskell, who was his professor, said that he only found one leg from one fly in the trunk. so really, diametrically opposed versions of what happened. it's become a battle of the experts in the casey anthony trial in that courtroom, and i have to tell you, this expert appears to be quite credible. i mean, he's a bug guy and he looks sort of like that nerdy, young bug guy that you may identify with, that someone may believe. >> and when you talk about creating questions or doubt, i mean, the experts yesterday said that they didn't find any blood or dna in the car or on casey anthony's clothes, really, and now you have this bug expert. there certainly wasn't any blood on the duct tape, either, or her remains. so, is this all enough to throw a wrench in the prosecution's theory and raise doubt with jurors? >> i think it very well could be. i mean, randi, you usually see

sort of two tactics by defense attorneys. one is the prosecution hasn't proven its case against my client, so my client is not guilty of the charges. the defense usually then pokes holes in a case. the other tactic that's used is my client is innocent of these charges, and let me tell you about what really happened. now, i think we all thought, given jose baez's explosive opening statement, alleging that caylee anthony didn't die, wasn't murdered by her mother, she died accidentally by drowning in the pool -- we all thought he was going to use the sort of, this is what happened, my client is innocent. but what we're seeing for the past two days, randi, is the former theory, which is let me poke some holes in this prosecution's case. and i will tell you, many courtroom observers, myself included, think that he's doing a pretty good job of that. he has a long way to go, but poking holes in this prosecution's circumstantial case, largely based on forensics, is a pretty good tactic to use, and i think he's been quite effective. >> so, the defense has only been

at it two days, so maybe it's too early to say, but is there any sense of who is winning this so far from your perspective? >> well, certainly, the defense needs to be winning at this point because it's the defense's turn, it's the defense's case in chief. like i said, he's got a long way to go because there is a lot of circumstantial evidence, no direct evidence tying casey anthony to this horrific crime. but certainly, in terms of the circumstantial evidence, i think the defense is doing pretty well at poking those holes. they've poked holes at the duct tape. they've poked holes at the crime scene. they are now poking holes at the potential of the body being in the trunk of the car because of this bug expert. so, i will say, perhaps score a few for the defense in these first two days, randi. >> okay. sunny hostin, thank you. have a nice weekend. >> thanks. >> casey anthony's defense team, by the way, is still making its case to the jury.

hln will have wall-to-wall coverage of the casey anthony murder trial throughout the day, if you want to catch some more of it. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is glad to be out of the hospital and spending time at her texas home. that is the latest from her husband, astronaut mark kelly. you'll recall that giffords was shot in the head in january. she was released from a houston hospital on wednesday. her husband spoke today about his wife for the first time since then, and it is our "sound effect." >> you want to believe, but she's a little bit apprehensive, a little bit of a sad day, but she was glad to get here. you know, we had a very busy lifestyle, different places. so, you know, in any given year, she was here rarely, but it's very familiar to her, so that's nice. she's really looking forward to getting back to tucson. >> giffords and her husband are staying at their houston suburban home, which is near the johnson space center. jared lee loughner is charged in the mass shooting which injured giffords and killed six people. a federal judge has ruled that he is incompetent to stand trial at this point.

his next court date is set, though, for september. in indiana, the body of a missing michigan woman has been found in a swamp. police say the body of dawn marie fattal was stuffed inside a suitcase. she had been missing since monday. an expedition hearing is set for her boyfriend, greg nowak, arrested tuesday in indiana and charged with murder. police believe he killed fattal in michigan, crossed state lines and dumped her body in that swamp. the u.s. army is reporting that may was the worst month in a year for suicides and potential suicides. the pentagon says there were 21 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers last month. one has been confirmed. the others are still being investigated. the numbers for may were the highest for one month since june 2010. an army spokesman says the service isn't sure why suicide cases seem to be rising at the same time as the pentagon is trying to solve the problem. rush hour traffic was made even worse today around the pentagon due to a security issue. an abandoned red nissan found

near the pentagon was searched, but no explosives or other suspicious materials were found. a man, officials say, was acting suspiciously, was also detained. his backpack contained what the fbi says were bags of nonexplosive, unknown material. according to one official, the man is of ethiopian background. the fbi also searched a house connected to the investigation in alexandria. officials determined there was no immediate concern after that search took place. the united nations human rights council today passed a resolution supporting equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation. the state department calls the move a "historic step." introduced by south africa, the resolution is the u.n.'s first ever measure on the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender. the vote was 23 in favor, 19 opposed and 3 abstentions. the resolution also will commission the first u.n. report on the challenges that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered face around the world. oil prices plummeted to a

four-month low today. in electronic trading, oil for july delivery fell nearly 3% to $92.12 a barrel. that's the lowest level since february. analysts attribute the decline to fears about greece defaulting on its debt. in response, the greek prime minister today reshuffled its cabinet and european finance ministers are scheduled to meet sunday to discuss a possible bailout package. comedian tracy morgan made a lot of folks upset with his a i antigay tirade earlier this month, but today he is making amends again. coming up, i'll speak with a gay teen who morgan just spoke with moments ago. find out what tracy morgan told him and if it was enough. that's next. with arthritis pai. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve

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welcome back. he finds himself a comedian, but comments tracy morgan made during a stand-up routine in nashville were anything but funny. by now, you've probably heard of his antigay remarks and the firestorm they've created. for his part, tracy morgan has made several public apologies and has promised to travel back to nashville next week to apologize, but he's taking it a step further. today he met with teens at new york's alny forney center, a place that provides support sponsored by g.l.a.d. joining me now, two people he met with today, jaden, a teen at the center. the group's founder and director

carl siciliano, and a woman who lost her son to a hate crime. what did tracy morgan say to you today, and more importantly what did you tell him? >> well, i started out with telling him a lot about my story, my background. and basically, what he was telling me was being apologetic a thousand times over for the statements that were said. also, he told me a lot about his background and how much he's like me. we both grew up in not great areas, not great neighborhoods. and then also, he has backgrounds with me with jehovah's witnesses. >> and jayden, were you satisfied with what he said to you? did he ever say "i'm sorry"? >> oh, yes. well, yes, he apologized. he definitely did. not that i'm not satisfied.

i just want to see exactly the changes that he says he's going to make. he also, he spoke about a lot of good things that he's going to be doing, especially with, like, g.l.a.d. and psa announcements. >> and carl, i want to ask you, i mean, how was tracy's visit viewed by those at the alley forney center today and why do you think this was so important, this visit? >> when he made those terrible statements, especially the statement about stabbing his son to death if he was gay, we were all very upset. at the aly forney center, we work with thousands of kids who have been rejected by their families, often violently, for being lesbian and gay, bisexual and transgendered. and it was important for us to have him there, because we wanted him to understand the human suffering that's caused when parents won't and can't accept their gay kids. we wanted him to understand it's a matter of life and death that parents be able to accept their gay kids, be able to love and

embrace them and not throw them out into the street, as happens to so many of the young people we work with. >> and elky, i understand your son shawn was killed in 2007 after a hate crime. >> yes. >> so you certainly understand firsthand the consequences of this hate-filled rhetoric. did you speak with tracy morgan today? and if so, how did that conversation go? >> yes, i did, and i was able to share my story with tracy, to tell him that my son was the victim of a hate crime in 2007. and he apologized for what he said and also, he made a commitment to do something about it, to use his place in the media in order to be able to be supportive of the lgbd community. >> i'd like to read just a part of tracy morgan's public apology. he said in part, "when all of this set in, i realized how hurtful my words were. in my heart, i know that the words i used are indefensible. i appreciate the love from my friends and fans, but i was

wrong, period." elke, did you find him to be truly remorseful? >> i did. i think he realized, actually quite immediately. he mentioned that as soon as he made those remarks, people were leaving the show, and that was the first time in his career that that actually happened, and that really touched him a lot. and he also said that his son was very disappointed in him. and listening to my story, he realized very quickly that it could be one of his sons that could be murdered in a hate crime very easily, and so that really touched him very much. >> and carl, do you think that apologies and meetings with groups like yours is enough? >> no, i don't. look, i think it's an important first step. there are thousands of people who have hurt our young people -- parents who have rejected them, religious leaders and political leaders who promote the homophobic climate where parents are ashamed of their kids. nobody's ever come and apologized before, so i give tracy morgan credit for that.

but no, we've got to work much harder to create an environment in our country where families can love, accept and embrace their lgbt children, and we've got a long way to go. >> and jayden, what would you say is the takeaway in all this? i mean, yours and tracy's? and what lessons do you think, really, that tracy has learned through this? >> well, you know, basically, i feel as if my story that i tell him is going to help a lot of others. that's why i wish that he would share my story and elke's story, because this is very important. there is the kid anywhere who's on the edge because his parents might not accept him and his friends might not accept him. and so, he might want to commit suicide like the ones that we've had over the last past month. and it's very sad. i want to share this story because i want them to know that there is so much hope and you just do not need to give up, and that's what i want him to share with people. >> jayden, you're a brave young man for coming on.

we appreciate that. and carl and elke, thank you all. elke, thank you for sharing your son sean's story as well. >> thank you. well, it is hard to forget this kind of devastation. take a look. communities obliterated by an outbreak of tornadoes. the heartbreaking costs in just a couple of minutes. and today, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief right to the site of your tough pain. ♪ in fact, it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. extra strength pain relief, twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. right now, go to priceline for a sneak peek at recent winning and better than ever! hotel bids to find where you n save up to 60% on hotels. * we'll even email you other people's winning bids, so you'll know what price to name. *á with new hotel bid alerts, from priceline.

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it's hard to forget these images. joplin, missouri, and more than a dozen other states across the midwest and south. the death and destruction where homes and businesses used to be. this was a familiar scene in may, as mother nature unleashed an outbreak of devastating tornadoes. in today's "taking the lead," we're getting a better understanding of the loss and the cost of these disasters. today, allstate says all those tornadoes cost them $600 million last month. when you add in all the disaster losses in april, the insurance giant estimates all of the catastrophic weather events this quarter totals 2 billion bucks. for allstate, that makes this quarter the most expensive due to catastrophes since hurricane katrina hit in 2005. but keep in mind that these

numbers only include the people allstate insures. if you account for other insurance companies, one firm that tracks and estimates the loss from disaster says the severe storms that carved their way across large portions of the south in april caused up to $5 billion in damage. in may, we're talking up to $3 billion in insured losses in joplin alone. these are just estimates from the past two months. it does not even include the uninsured and other disasters like the flooding from the mississippi. according to a number of estimates, this year is on track to be the costliest tornado season in u.s. history. up next, the heat's been stifling, but the south might have some more stormy weather ahead. reynolds wolf has the outlook for us just ahead. your whites..t with a bright future... then...over time... become dull... and lose their luster because washing in the bargain brand can leave dirt from the wash on your clothes causing your whites to get dingy. new improved tide plus bleach helps to remove the dirt in one wash to bring your whites back to bright.

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our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪ bell, well, i probably don't have to tell you this, that it's been hot, hot, hot across the country. of course, you're wondering is there any relief in sight? the man with the answer, reynolds wolf. >> yes. in places like birmingham, alabama. today was a warm, muggy day. they have had a cooldown, temperatures in the 70s, but there has been a price to pay for it, strong thunderstorms now

rolling through parts of alabama. in fact, we've got a severe thunderstorm watch that's in effect for parts of central and southern alabama until about 6:00 local time. that also includes just a little bit of mississippi. unfortunately, though, you'll notice some of the rain beginning to fade as it gets closer towards atlanta. atlanta, we had some heavy rain falling just a few days ago. we could use more. unfortunately, that may not be in the mix. something else that's very unfortunate is although we're getting plenty of rainfall in parts of the southeast at the time being, where we've really needed it is out towards the west, where they've been battling the wildfires in mexico and arizona. take a look at the video. it's been a rough time there. the blaze now 33% contained. still, nearly 500,000 acres up in smoke. and with the wind expected to increase later this afternoon and through the weekend with very low humidity, conditions are going to be very rough for those battling the blaze. meanwhile, for the rest of the nation, we could see some more storms develop across parts of the nation's midsection, back through the heartland, even into the great lakes and points just little bit to the south in the ohio river valley. could see some there.

towards the west coast, a mix of sunshine and clouds. pretty nice for you in the pacific northwest where high temperatures on the west coast and into the upper plains are going to stay fairly comfortable, mainly some 70s, some 80s in most spots. look for some rain to develop in parts of the northeast and along parts of the outer banks, possibly, too, into the carolinas. things are going to be kind of hit-and-miss in terms of your sun and clouds, with possibly a boom of thunder into portions of virginia. okay, that is a snapshot of your forecast. of course, i'll be back this weekend to share a bit more with you on saturday and sunday. randi? >> and reynolds, i want to wish you an early happy father's day. >> thank you kindly. >> all right. have a good one. so, what happens to soap in your hotel after you check out? generally, it's thrown away, but this week's "cnn hero" has a life-saving idea for it. >> a child of war can be simply described as a kid caught between a rock and a hard place. it's finding all your pieces and trying to put them back together. i do have something in common with these kids. you wake up every morning

thinking, are we going to survive? sanitation isn't a priority. we have about 2 million kids that die of sanitation issues, mainly because they don't wash their hands. i am derreck kayongo. i'm a former refugee and now i help kids fight this with sanitation. is this for me? the issue isn't the availability of soap, but the issue is cost, can they afford it? >> housekeeping. >> 8 million bars of soap in the hotels are thrown away in the u.s. alone every year. we're able to get a lot of soap which we can process and make new soap out of it. we clean it, melt it, and then cut it into the final blocks. box it and ship it. >> welcome! welcome! >> being here in kenya at this orphanage is coming full circle, but with good news.

it's very important to have it but also to use it so they can fight off diseases. those are clean. that's very good. things i have learned from the kids is a sense of resilience. to know that they have this sense of hope and joy is remarkable. do i feel like i'm having an impact on them? yeah, i think so. >> derreck and his volunteers have distributed more than 100,000 bars of soap to nine countries for free. and we want you, of course, to remember this, that every one of this year's "cnn heroes" are chosen from people that you tell us about. so, you can nominate someone that you know is making a big difference in your community. we make it real easy for you just by going to cnnheroes.com. can what you wear on an airplane land you in jail? one university of new mexico football player found that out the hard way. his story and all the details, coming up next. what's this option? that's new.

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my money. my choice. my meineke. it is half past the hour. here's a look at some of the news you may have missed. a big traffic jam around the pentagon this morning as police closed the roads to investigate a car left abandoned in the bushes. while the vehicle was at first deemed suspicious, no explosives or any other harmful devices were found in the red nissan. police also detained a man at nearby arlington national cemetery. no charges have been filed. they say the investigation is ongoing. casey anthony's defense team opened the second day of its case by calling an insect expert to the stand. dr. tim huntington, a forensic entomology consultant countered the testimony of the state's bug expert. i remind you, these are live pictures inside the trial as

it's happening this hour. the prosecution's witness testified that flies found in the trunk of casey anthony's car were consistent with a body having been stored for days. huntington, though, concluded that in this case, the amount of insects present was not consistent with body decomposition. anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. a university of new mexico football player forced off a us airways flight and then arrested, get this, for refusing to pull up his saggy pants. police say after the flight crew's unsuccessful attempts to get deshawn marman to pull up his pants to cover his underwear, the captain asked him to leave the airplane. eventually, he walked off the plane where a struggle with police officers followed. he was arrested for trespassing in the end and battery on a police officer. ex-congressman anthony weiner has a job offer. where? "hustler" magazine. yes, the founder, larry flynt, is offering him a job. the offer came within hours of weiner's resignation yesterday over a sexting scandal.

here's the offer, take a look. a 20% raise above his salary in the house of representatives, medical benefits matching those he received while in office, and get this, flint also offered to pay anthony weiner's moving expenses. what a guy. flint made the job offer in a letter published in "the huffington post." the federal aviation administration has proposed a nearly $600,000 civil penalty against united airlines for violating drug testing policies. the faa alleges that united failed to perform mandatory drug testing before transferring 13 people to safety-sensitive positions. united airlines has 30 days to respond to the faa. well, talk about a slap in the face. you're barred from driving because you're a woman? how they're fighting the ban in saudi arabia. we'll talk about it with michael holmes, right after this.

a lot of women in saudi arabia are saying enough is enough! they're hitting the roads in cars as a protest against the ban against women drivers. here with us with his take on a protest that is also being driven by social media, of course, is michael holmes. so, let me just get this straight, it's not illegal for women to drive there, technically. >> no. >> there's no law on the books against it. >> there's no official law against it. it's a religious edict in saudi arabia. it's the only country in the world that has such an edict, as well. and the clerics and the conservatives there say women driving on their own, they've got more challennce of them mix to men who aren't part of their family, it could lead to all sorts of horrible things where this recently came to a head was there was a lady, milal al

sherif. she went driving. actually, she needed to get somewhere and her husband wasn't around, her son wasn't there, so she got in the car and drove. she videotaped and it put it on youtube. she was then arrested by the authorities, locked up for nine days, which by itself created a big row on twitter. all sorts of people were out there. there was something like 30,000 comments about this arrest within days on twitter. it sort of shows the social media thing all over again. that then led to a group called women who drive, which today held a protest of women get out there and drive. and lots and lots of women have been out and about driving. >> yeah, from what i assume, hundreds of them were expected to be out there. >> yeah. >> but now, some of these women, obviously, don't have licenses, right? you can't get -- it's not legal for them to get a license? >> no. other ones have been, they have licenses they got from outside of the country. one woman today was telling us she got her license while living in the united states, for example. >> and that would be valid, i

guess? >> yeah. i can come here and drive on an australian license, which i did for a while. >> really? are you sure that's legal? >> i hope so. >> just kidding. >> you know, it's interesting that, you know, you're talking about -- here's one fact, just to talk about how the edicts go. a fact in the newspaper commanded people to avoid driving, lol, laughing out loud, on their internet messages, and the reason was because the idea of a woman laughing might arouse male strangers. >> wow. >> that's the sort of thing you're dealing with there, but there's a big push from women now to get license, be allowed to drive. >> so, that was a big hit on social media. and because we're on this social media beat today, little bit here, the "globe trekking" segment, i love this story. obviously, his wife doesn't love it, though, but one of china's billionaires, one of the most famous businessmen there decides to end his marriage on their version of twitter, right? because twitter is illegal or banned in china. >> twitter is banned in china, yes. >> so, they have their own social media and he went out and

said i'm running away with my mistress. >> it's huge there. >> who does that? >> it's got 140 million followers. he's one of china's most famous ambassadors. so, yeah, he was embarrassed to tell his wife, so he tweeted. he said i'm giving up everything and eloping. i feel ashamed and i'm leaving without saying good-bye. i kneel down and ask for forgiveness. good luck with that one, wang. and headed off with his mistress. >> but this went viral, right? >> absolutely did. >> he got like 60,000 views or something like that? >> it was 60,000 times it was retweeted and 30,000 comments, all within a couple of days. it's not surprising. the guy is known around china and puts it out there on twitter, or their version of twitter? >> their version of it. >> yeah, yeah. >> what's interesting, from what i understand, i read a little bit about it. this is a really big deal, not just what he did and what he said, but even just this social media there, because people there now can voice things about the government. >> that's right. >> and they're having opinions

they were never really allowed to have. >> private opinions, political opinions, things like that. what these social networks have given chinese people, where before they haven't had a platform or a forum in which to express themselves, they're now able to do it, even if it is in 140 characters. and don't get me wrong, these are censored. if you go too far, it's cut out, and there are censors monitoring all this. the chinese authorities in some ways don't mind it because it gives them a way of monitoring public sentiment as well. so, they're using it to keep an eye on the people. if the people go too far, boom, they censor is anyway. >> it's a fascinating story. michael holmes, good to see you. have a good weekend. >> you, too. >> thank you. he is a therapist, a social worker and is hiv-positive. alexander smith's emotional story after this break. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped!

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hiv is not a death sentence. this week, we've been focusing on aids as we mark the 30-year anniversary of the disease. there is a huge stigma on the disease, creating an environment of fear for many survivors of hiv/aids, and that stigma is unfounded, and quite frankly, ignorant. people with the disease live healthy, productive lives. if you were standing next to someone who was hiv-positive, you likely wouldn't even be able to tell. and to help blow that stigma out of the water, i want to introduce you now to alexander smith. he is 37 years old. he is a therapist and licensed clinical social worker for the state of utah. alexander is also hiv-positive.

he contracted the virus about eight years ago. he also developed a website, blessthisvirus.com, and he joins us live now from salt lake city, utah. alexander, thanks so much for coming on the show. i want to start with how you contracted hiv, and how did you react when you first found out? what was that like? >> certainly. i contracted hiv from sex. there's only a couple ways you get it, and i had unprotected sex, and eight years ago i was not in a place vibationally to have safe conversations for myself. i had left my religion. i had repressed years of repression, repression, and i caught the virus on an unlucky diagnose day of march 17th, st. patrick's day, 2003. >> most people when they test positive for hiv are filled with shame, and you have started this website, blessthisvirus.com. how did you go about making peace with this?

>> it's blessyourvirus.com. and that was the whole concept for me. initially, i stepped right into the diagnosis and right into the story. i mean it was terrifying. i think most people understand that. fortunately, we're in a time, and i have the privilege to have medications, to support myself and to take care of that. but initially, stepping into it was very terrifying. and so, for me, stepping in -- and it took about six years to finally make peace. a girlfriend of mine one day said to me, have you ever said hello to the virus living inside of you? and i stopped for a minute and thought, why in the world would i want to do that? it terrifies me. >> but not anymore. >> so, that was the beginning. no, not anymore. that's where it changed for me, as i realized from what she said, there's truth, and that's what i believe in now, is that making peace with the things that scare us, blessing your virus -- we all have viruses. mine is hiv. i've had other viruses. a lot of other hiv-positive people out there, a lot of other people who are negative who have

their own viruses. but blessing things, wrapping our arms around, creating compassion, love, understanding, conversation, it changed everything for me. my health is great. yeah. i look great, i feel great. >> i was going to ask you, how do you feel? >> you know, randi, i feel fantastic, and this week has been an amazing experience, coming into this opportunity to stand up in my place of privilege to share this blessing. i feel healthy. i feel alive. and we're sitting at a time 30 years into this where there's an opportunity for a cure. you know, the berlin patient, timothy brown, has been cured. he's hiv-negative. and it's going to be a process to get there, but that's what this blessyourvirus.com is all about, is how can we create an environment where the cure can arrive for me and for all of us? >> yeah. as we have been talking, we have been looking at pictures of you, and you are full of life, no doubt about that. but what would you say to people who are watching right now who are hiv-positive? what would you say to those

family, friends, co-workers of people who are positive as well? >> i would start by saying i bless you and i bless the virus that you carry, and i ask you and i challenge you to turn in and define courage and to find small moments, small steps, small thoughts, to turn in and find the blessing within yourse yourself, because we need your hope. those who carry the virus have such a magnificent ability and understanding. and so, i would say hang in there and find a way to bless and love yourself and find life. >> alexander smith, great advice and great talking with you. thank you and be well. take care of yourself. >> yes, thank you. >> and to connect with alexander and check out his website, blessyourvirus, head to our blog, cnn.com/ali. we'll also connect you to alexander's facebook. is the united states and its military ready for women to serve in combat? today's dream team will tackle this topic, next. [ male announcer ] breathe, socket. just breathe.

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a pentagon commission on diversity has recommended that the u.s. military end its ban on women serving in direct combat roles. the group says that the restriction is discriminatory and out of touch with the demands of modern warfare. in its report, the military leadership diversity commission said that the military should gradually eliminate the ban in

order to create a "level playing field" for all qualified service members. so, our question for today's stream team is this -- should women be allowed to serve in combat? with us today, lieutenant general russell honore, deputy commander 1st cavalry for two years at ft. hood, and elaine donnelly, joining me by phone, president of the center for military readiness. thank you, both. general, i'd like to start with you. should women be allowed, do you think, to serve in combat? >> well, if you asked me that ten years ago, i would have a lot of speculation about that, but since the beginning of the year, during the afghanistan campaign, i just ordered over 400,000 troops, and over 30% of them were women, and they served admirably in afghanistan and iraq. and if afghanistan and iraq are the future of what combat's going to look like, the women did well, but it ought to be optional for women, if they want to be in those job occupation

skill to go directly into combat. i think it ought to be optional. >> and elaine, you're not in favor of women in combat. i mean, is it the physical aspect of the job that concerns you and gives you pause? >> well, first, we need to define what the word combat means. it's not just being in danger. and yes, as the general says, all the women in afghanistan and iraq are serving well. they are all in danger. but direct ground combat means attacking the enemy. we're talking about the infantry, the armored special operation forces, the tip of the spear. you cannot do this on an optional basis. the commission that studied this issue in 1992, on which i served, looked at that, and there's no way you can make it optional. it would be mandatory. for the majority of women who want nothing to do with being in direct ground combat. the diversity commission is all about diversity. it's not about combat effectiveness. it was started by the pentagon, but it's primarily a group of people who are pushing equal opportunity as if the military

is just another equal opportunity employer, but there's no such thing as a level playing field in combat. you attack the enemy or you get attacked by the enemy. >> right. >> you'd better win. >> general honore, is it possible, do you think, though to allow women into combat without maybe having training standards be lowered as a result? >> contrary to popular belief, we have the same standard. women have to complete the same tasks as men. the difference is, is in your combat unit, when you're wearing the 70-pound or 90-pound rucksack, as she was talking about going into combat, those are situations that in a majority of the cases, that would be a stress on the average woman, but there are some women that are capable of doing it. that being said, we're running a volunteer army and military. and until everybody is serving, those who serve and have the capability to either be a military policeman, to be an

artilleryman or those type skill, there are many more skills that women can do than they're doing today. to be active combat is not one the military would decide on its own. >> elaine, i'd like you to weigh in on that as well. >> sure. >> do you think that standards would need to be lowered? >> sure. i understand what the general is saying, but every attempt to keep standards the same or identical for men and women have failed, and it goes back to the same diversity crowd that's pushing to have women forced into infantry and special operations forces or areas where they're not really suited. the reason is gender norming. standards are always adjusted to "make it more fair." that's because women don't have the same strengths, physical strengths and capabilities that men have. certainly, they're as smart as men, as courageous as men, but physical differences matter in those direct ground combat units, such as the infantry. so treating women equally would really be quite unfair, and we

know that the army has not been complying with regulations as they are, but if this continues, we're going to see a situation where civilian women would have to be subject to registration for the draft because the aclu are going to court on behalf of men and say, well, look, let's make it equal, let's force women into the military, into combat in time of war, registration for it, selective service. there are a lot more factors here than meet the eye superficially. and by the way, i do have to add this -- we're all proud of our women who serve. none of this is their fault. but the policymakers have to keep their priorities straight. then we can use women to the best capability that they have, and that would be best for everyone. >> elaine donnelly, general russel honore, thank you both for weighing in on this hot topic. and it is time now for a cnn political update. senior white house correspondent ed henry joins me now from the white house. ed, big golf match scheduled for tomorrow for the president and john boehner.

>> reporter: that's right, randi. it'd be interesting. vice president biden will be joining these two leaders, along with john kashich. he'll be playing on the republican side with john boehner. obviously, ohio governor from john boehner's home state. jay carney today told us they're going to allow us to take some pictures of this foursome, but they're still holding back on whether or not they're going to release the scores. that may have something to do with the fact that john boehner, particularly, a little bit better than the president. his handicap is much, much lower. he gets out there a lot and is known for being pretty good on the links. so, we'll see how that plays out. i think more importantly, what both sides are saying is that this is a chance at a time of great division between both parties for them to try to get together in a social setting, maybe try to work out some big problems. we shall see. meanwhile, in terms of republican presidential politics, former alaska governor sarah palin is denying a report in "the american spectator" which suggested she's closing in on a decision about whether or not to run. obviously, a lot of people still waiting to see whether or not she's going to get in. and finally, texas governor rick

perry announcing he's going to be getting minor back surgery early next month. people watching that closely. obviously, any health moves, anything going on in his schedule, because a lot of republicans now, perhaps because of some concern that maybe the republican presidential field is not strong enough, turning their eyes to the republican governor of texas, thinking maybe that governor perry would be strong. he's been out there on the road last couple of days, and he's going to be out in new orleans this weekend speaking at a republican gathering. he may be testing the waters, and a lot of people watching and waiting to see whether he'll get in, randi. >> ed henry for us at the white house. ed, thank you. >> thanks, randi. >> and your next update from the best political team on television is just one hour away. san francisco's latest crusade, fighting for the rights of goldfish? we could not let this story get away. what you'll hear, next in my "xyz." my doctor told me calcium

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time now for my "xyz," and i don't even know what to make of this next story, honestly. in san francisco, the animal control and welfare commission is proposing a bill to ban goldfish. it's reportedly meant to discourage impulse buys. the commission also hopes to renew a ban on pets like puppies, kitties and hamsters. i sort of get it. i mean, i'm a huge animal lover. i've always adopted from shelters and spayed and neutered my pets. i certainly don't want to see pets return to shelters, but goldfish?